Owners of other General Motors vehicles from GMC, Saturn, Buick, and Cadillac such as the Acadia, Terrain, Sierra, Yukon, Savana, Outlook, Verano, Regal, Lacrosse, Encore, Enclave, Spark, Sonic, Cruze, Malibu, Impala, Camaro, Equinox, Tahoe, Suburban, Colorado, Avalanche, Silverado, ATS, XTS, CTS, SRX, and Escalade may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

The tools needed to complete this rear brake job include a floor jack, jack stands, a lug nut wrench, a 14mm socket with ratcheting wrench, a 17mm spanner wrench and a "C" or "F" clamp.

A few compatible aftermarket sets of rear brake pads include the following with their part numbers: Wagner QC883, Raybestos SGD883C, Centric Parts 102.08830, Power Stop 16-883, Silencer Friction # OR883, Bendix D1507, and Akebono ASP883.

Slightly loosen the 6 lug nuts on the rear wheel with the tire iron.

Raise the rear of the vehicle with the floor jack and securely support it with the two jack stands.

Pull off the wheel to reveal the rear brake caliper, bracket and rotor.

Loosen the upper and lower caliper bolts with the 14mm socket and ratcheting wrench by turning them clockwise (as seen from the outside of the vehicle).

If the caliper slider pin spins as you try to remove the bolt, attach a thin 17mm cone spanner wrench to keep it from moving.

Pull the rear brake caliper out of the bracket and carefully rest it on the suspension or tie it up with some twine.

Pull the old brake pads out of the bracket while making a mental note of how the wear indicator or "squeal" bar is orientated.

I recommend buying the Wagner ThermoQuiet QC883 brake pads since they have great reviews on Amazon. I also like how they have built in insulators so they don't require backing plates, shims or disc brake quiet gel.

Thoroughly clean off the brake rotor, caliper bracket, brake caliper assembly and the lug nut studs with some brake parts cleaner spray. Do not use compressed air or blow with your mouth to clean off the brake parts since inhaling brake dust can be harmful to your health. Brake dust can be carcinogenic (causes cancer) if inhaled.

If your vehicle exhibits shuddering, pulsating, or vibrations during braking, you may need to have your rotors "turned" (resurfaced) or just replace them with brand new rotors. If this is the car's first front brake job and the rotors appear to be in excellent condition, you should be able to just replace the pads with great results.

To remove the existing rotors and install new ones, just remove the two bolts on the rear of the caliper bracket that attach it to the steering knuckle. Then loosen the old rotor with a rubber mallet, pull it off, and slide the new one in its place.

On this 2012 Traverse, the wear bar is located at the top of the inner brake pad.

If your new set of rear brake pads came with new metal "anti-rattle" pad abutment clips, pull the the old ones out of the top and bottom of the caliper bracket and push in the new ones.

In order for the rear brake caliper to work properly the two caliper slider pins need to be well lubricated.

Pull the upper and lower caliper pins out of their rubber dust boots and generously apply some high pressure / high temperature disc brake caliper grease.

Push the caliper slider pins back into their rubber dust boots until they snap in to place.

Attach the "C" clamp to the caliper piston using the back of an old brake pad to evenly distribute the force.

Twist off the brake fluid reservoir cap in the engine bay and check the level.

Slowly compress the caliper piston until it is flush with its rubber dust boot while repeatedly checking the level in the reservoir to prevent it from overflowing. Immediately clean up any spilled brake fluid since it can damage painted surfaces.

Install the new brake pads into the caliper bracket with the wear indicator bar situated at the top of the inner pad.

Lower the caliper over the new brake pads and in to the bracket.

If the caliper won't fit over the new pads, you may need to compress the piston back a bit further with the "C" clamp.

Thread in the caliper bolts by hand a few turns to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Tighten the caliper bolts by turning them counter clockwise (as seen from outside the vehicle) until they are just past hand tight or about 20-25 ft lbs of torque.

Double check that both the upper and lower caliper bolts are tight before continuing on to the next steps.

It would be best to bleed the brake lines at this time in order to flush out the old fluid and replace it with fresh DOT3 brake fluid. For more on this topic, check out my Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With An Assistant DIY Guide or alternatively the Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With A Power Bleeder Guide.

Replace the rear wheel and spin on the 6 lug nuts by hand to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Slightly tighten the lug nuts with the tire iron and lower the vehicle from the jack stands with the floor jack until the rear tire holds some weight to keep it from spinning.

Progressively tighten the six lug nuts in a "criss cross" or "star" pattern to about 1/4 to 1/2 turn past hand tight.

It would be best to use a torque wrench or an air gun with a torque stick to tighten the lug nuts to about 75-100 lb-ft of torque.

Please check your owner's manual for the correct lug nut torque specification. Earlier model years may require 140 lb-ft of torque to properly tighten the lug nuts.

Sit in the driver's seat of the vehicle and pump the brake pedal a few times to restore brake line pressure. Check the brake fluid in the reservoir and verify that it is at the proper level. If it is low, add some DOT 3 fluid.

To break in your new front brake pads, just drive normally for the first several hundred miles while avoiding any hard or "panic" stops which may glaze over the new brake pads and cause them to be noisy and possibly not perform as well.

It's also a good idea to regularly check your driveway for drops of brake fluid which may indicate a leak, check the brake fluid level in the reservoir, and also check that the lug nuts are tight.

For more, check out my other Chevrolet Traverse Repair & Maintenance Guides.